Bee/Indy to Baggy/Lion +throw Bun in.

[Lintini]

 Okay where to start….

I’ve been thinking to introduce the boys to Indy and Bee. It would be cool to have all 4 running around and then seeing if I can sneak Bun in without Bee knowing.  (har har)

I’ve made the cube. And I have the bathtub. And a clothing basket + car ride.

Should I start Bee to Baggy? The 2 dominants or Baggy to Indy? Indy and Lion are the more passive two. Or start with Indy/Lion ?

I just don’t know who to start with really. I was sitting here so long staring at them I was like oh heck lets just throw all 5 into the bathtub and see how that works. That would probably end up not so well lol… I can just picture Bun beating everyone up rofl. 

  …So yea what pair to start bonding???

I need that huge room like Andi’s rescue has with like 50 buns in it. 

 

 

[jerseygirl]

I would approach it by doing dates with all the combinations and then go with the pair that seems easiest. You might be able to pick straight away who will make fast friends. I’d then move onto the more difficult pairings. Just thinking that you can use some of the tight bonds to aid you in the more difficult ones. For example, say Indy is easy going and Bee is not so much, then use Bee and Indys bond to your advantage. Indy might help in settling Bee’s behaviour towards the others.

Be aware, it could work against you too. Bee might not want to share Indy and vice verse. Their own bond could be challenged. If that happens it should be too much trouble to get them friendly again I imagine.

So, not sure if what I’ve suggested is the right way..it’s just how I’d go about it. I think it may be a case of just get in there and start – come what may.

[Lintini]

Yes Bee is very possessive of Indy. I think I should try her first with Bagheera now that I think about it more.

[jerseygirl]

V good. Let your instinct guide you. You know them best. Be sure to post how it goes

[Lintini]

 What a complete mess. I tried bonding tonight of Bee and Lion. I used the bathtub. Bee viciously attacked Lion and I just removed them. They always sniff through the cage so I decided to go with them first. Lion was frantic and I held him while he calmed back down. I didn’t feel any cuts or anything. I can’t believe I tried this for less than one minute and I feel like already giving up. I’ve been too spoiled with the instant bonds and I have no drive to deal with them fighting. I don’t like seeing that at all and dealing with the freaked out bunny, makes me feel terrible because it’s my fault. 

I feel like I am only trying to bond them for myself to make my life a litter easier with cleaning when they are already happy? 

[Deleted User]

Lintini, You have to weigh out what you are willing to put your bunnies through. The most harmonious life is for a rabbit to live with one bonded buddy. Anything more than that makes life a little bit ‘rougher’, with more stress due to competition and more complex relations. sometimes a group can be very peaceful but it takes very much time, I mean incredible amounts of time. I must be addicted to frustration for the fact I’m attempting a quartet again because this is what it is for the first long while: one frustration after another. When you start out with two strong pairs, you might have to loose those bonds first… which is a heartbreaker in a way. For me the deciding factor has always been the fear I have that two unbonded rabbits could somehow escape and fight… so I force my bonds no matter what it takes.
Starting a bond is the toughest part and I hate it! I hate the first couple of sessions ~ but what you saw in the tub session was pretty standard… whenever mine have a rough start, I do a two-rabbit bonding burrito in a towel just to end on a non-fighting note and do scent transfer.
Even the cube, much like the tub, has to be worked toward. the first few encounters aren’t smooth in many cases. This is not a reason to stop bonding. The other thing to consider in a multiple bond is space. you need many neutral areas for different bonding combinations, without those you cannot achieve it. What do you say?

[jerseygirl]

What about getting Bun in with Baggy+Lion? Then you can cut down to number of separate habitats.

Are you dealing with poop wars currently? Because the littering doesn’t always stop after bonding unfortunately.

[Lintini]

Yea Bun with Bagheera/Lion is a plan

The poop wars have calmed down, I have litterboxes in the warzone so it’s not bad at all. The huge issue in my room is Bee digging in my bedding and ruining it. I found a tinkle on it too. I maybe pick up 10 poops a day, I don’t know if its poop wars or being tracked on fuzzy feet.

[jerseygirl]

Less free ranging for Bee and Indy? “You give ’em an inch &…..”

I think I see now. You can’t really shut this pair up?  What about blocking access up onto the bed? I know it’ll be a real pain, but maybe a fold-away NIC grid barrier you can put up around the bed? Plus an alternative diggy box for busy Bee?

[mrmac]

Do you have an old bed top sheet? Dexter and Dennis would leave little pee spots on our bed comforter but I laid a top sheet or two on top and they could use that to dig/pee on since it is now a “bunny” sheet.

[Deleted User]

You need a plan if you want a trio bond. If you go in it with a plan, their acting out during sessions will not affect you as much because you will dictate what happens next. You will need neutral pace. Is your aviary neutral to the rabbits? That could become an important bonding site. You have a car, start with rides. Pick which one you want to bond with Bun first and schedule yourself times for sessions. I find that a hard part for myself, to make that time for drawn-out sessions.

[Lintini]

I have 2 bathrooms and my brothers room that I could use for bonding with neutral areas. The aviary is full of horse stuff atm.

Ya mrmac, I have a top blanket that is getting destroyed. I just miss having nice bedding. Oh well.

[Deleted User]

I would start with car rides, and then progress to a cube or basket and then bathtub.

[The Rabbit]

Here is a really interesting page i found the other day. http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm this woman has 7 bunnies all bonded together, and she describes how she does it.

Edit: woah, she actually has NINE bonded buns!

[Deleted User]

Nice link.~

A larger group will accept a new rabbit more easily than two rabbits that meet each other as singles, this requires a large group, though, not just three or four bunnies. It also presupposes that the existing group is already bonded well with each other. I think the fact that they accept new rabbits more easily is because by the time a group is very large, they have gone through bonding so many times and have been accustomed to a ‘live-and-let-live’ protocol. I like how the lady in your link describes her process, I appreciate especially that she points out that sometimes one bunny does not integrate, gets picked on, and should be removed from the group. I find it interesting what she says about letting fighting go on for about ten seconds… this is basically how long it takes to break up a fight anyways.

Linitini, your situation of two pairs to bond to each other is probably the hardest there is. You don’t have a group, but pairs that are very well-matched. Bringing in new rabbits to a pair can change that pairs’ relationship. A paired-bond is usually the strongest there is, and it seems to leave little room for new rabbits. The owner of the nine bonded rabbits emphasizes, too, that in a group of bonded rabbits it isn’t alll love and cuddles.

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